Poll: Both Democrats and Republicans struggling on issues, public perception

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While known mostly for their regional coverage Quinnipiac’s latest survey focuses on the opinions of voters nationwide.

The key aspects from their recent polling over the weekend find President Obama’s approval rating and the percentage of public support for health care reform starting to settle in with a measure of consistency. Congress is heavily disapproved of with both Democrats and Republican representatives viewed in an increasingly negative light.

Below are ten highlights from the Quinnipiac survey of 2,630 registered adults nationwide.

1) President Obama’s approval rating holds steady from two months ago

In early August President Obama’s approval rating dropped seven-percentage points and his unfavorables by nine-percent. It was the start of a downward slide for the President but we now see two months of intense policy debate leveling his numbers somewhat. Currently 50% of registered adults nationwide approve of his job performance against 41% who do not. These figures are essentially unchanged from two months ago and include 82% of approving Democrats, 77% opposition from Republicans and a narrow 45-44% approval to disapproval split with independents.

2) Democrats in Congress see shrinking support from voters

With virtually all polls showing heavy dissatisfaction with Congress as a whole the majority party continues to struggle in the eyes of voters. Just 33% now approve of the way Democrats are handling their job, a modest two-point drop from early-August and a decline of twelve-points from early-March. At 56% negatives are also at a recent high for Congress since March. Just 8% of Republicans and 27% of independents approve of their job performance with even many Democrats (27%) showing dissatisfaction.

3) Congressional Republicans are viewed even worse by the public

The news is bad for the Democrats inching closer to a midterm election a little over a year away. Their situation seems less dire however considering the unpopularity of their opposition party. Republicans actually score eight-points lower in their Congressional approval ratings dropping to just 25%. This marks a four-point decrease from August all the while the number of those disapproving has jumped to a seven month high of 64%. Democrats and independents offer just 14% and 21% support respectively but it’s Republicans at an approval margin of 49-42% approval that is particularly notable.

4) Americans increasingly dissatisfied with the way things are going, economy top issue

There is a steady increase in the number of Americans who are dissatisfied with the way things are going. While not record low numbers just 3% claim to be very satisfied and 27% are somewhat satisfied. 38% meanwhile are very dissatisfied with 31% at least somewhat dissatisfied. Down from November of last year but still the top issue with voters is the economy at 42% - jobs in particular come in at 22%. Health care has risen from a modest concern with voters to a significant issue now at a record high of 18%

5) Slight improvement for President Obama in his handling of the economy

President Obama finds his approval rating for handling the overall economy under 50% for the second straight survey. Still it marks a modest improvement from Quinnipiac’s last poll in August. Currently 47% of the country approves of how he is handling economic matters against 46% who do not. That’s up from a 45-49% margin recorded two months ago but still down considerably from a 57-33% approval to disapproval split in March. Just 40% of independents and 15% of Republicans approve of the President in this area.

6) Modest bounce for Obama with health care, most still disapprove

After several months of pushing his top domestic priority President Obama has seen a modest payoff in the polls of his handling of health care. Still mired in the negatives Obama’s approval rating in this area has increased to 41% against 51% who continue to disapprove. That’s up from a 39-52% split recorded in early-August but still down from a 46-42% positive margin in early-July. Just 36% of a key group of independent voters approve of the President’s performance in handling health care. Political moderates are back in a 47-44% positive margin, but conservatives are heavily negative toward Obama with only 18% approving of his leadership on the issue.

7) President Obama’s health care reform plan still opposed by a plurality of Americans

40% of Americans are in favor with the health care reform proposals initiated by President Obama, 47% are opposed. This total includes 71% of Democrats but just 35% of independents and 9% of Republicans. Women are evenly split on the President’s plan (43-43%) but a majority of men (52%) remain opposed. Young voters 18-34 approve of the plan by a 47-42% margin but those over the age of 35 are only around 39% in favor. 71% of liberals against just 17% of conservatives are in favor of the President’s health care plan and there is also a large disparity between race with 79% of African Americans compared with just 33% of whites approving.

8) President Obama supported more than Republicans in Congress on health care

Asked who is doing a better job handling health care 47% of the voting public sides with President Obama against just 31% who favor the Republicans in Congress. This is a modest bump from August when the President was favored over the GOP by a margin of 46-37%. A fairly large 21% of population remains uncertain over who they side with more. Not surprisingly the support for either party remains a highly partisan issue. Just 5% of Democrats support the Republicans in congress and just 9% of Republican voters side with President Obama. Independents show a preference towards the President by a margin of 41-30%.

9) Most Americans in favor of a government plan to compete with private insurers

Holding steady from polls taken two months ago a clear majority of Americans support being given the option of coverage from a government health insurance plan that would compete with private plans. 61% favor that plan with 34% against the option. These totals are similar to Quinnipiac’s early-August survey that showed 62% of Americans supporting and 32% opposed to a government run plan. 36% of Republicans support the measure with a significant majority of independents (59%) and the vast majority of Democrats (81%) supportive of competition from the government.

10) Democrats favorability drops, still hire than sluggish figures for the GOP

Just 38% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party according to the Quinnipiac survey. 46% now have unfavorable opinion of the party with both figures dropping and increasing by four-percentage points respectively since early-August. The Republican Party is in even worse shape with the electorate as just 25% have a favorable opinion of them and 53% hold unfavorable opinion. Just 9% of Republicans approve of the Democratic Party and just 8% of Democrats find the GOP favorable. 29% of independents give the Democrats a favorable rating and that number drops to a dismal 19% when asked the same about the Republican Party.